I like theater. There is something in the physical presence of the actors that touches me. The knowledge that what I see is happening here and now, no more tricks than allows the scenic art. I like the passion of who takes the stage, the sound of voices projected in the room, to know that is a unique and unrepeatable moment what I witness there.

On my most recent stay in Lisbon went to see the play Cyrano de Bergerac which is on stage at the National Theatre D. Maria II. I had missed that room and longed for Cyrano. Always remember him with Gérard Depardieu’s face in the splendid film of Jean-Paul Rappeneau (1990). A hero who is almost an anti-hero, a man, admired by some and envied by others, acting with passion, courage and integrity over a lifetime.

The character of Edmond Rostand was based on a French author of the seventeenth century of the same name. The site of the National Theatre D. Maria II describes us Cyrano and the play from Rostand. “A passionate poet. An insightful playwright. An expert swordsman. A brave soldier. A great philosopher. A deep student of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy. Cyrano de Bergerac has unusual qualities, but hidden by the physical aspect, where the topping nose is reason of frustration. In the seventeenth-century France, Cyrano suffers intensely loving her cousin, Roxanne, young, beautiful, emotional, whose ideal of man envolves beauty and spirit. Wen she meets Christian, Roxanne falls in love with him, but he is shy and can not maintain a normal relationship with a woman. It is then that Cyrano helps Christian, writing long and beautiful love letters that will make Roxanne’s passion for Christian even greater.

This is a heroic comedy that exalts noble feelings like love and renunciation. Written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand, based on French writer Cyrano de Bergerac’s life, this play is considered the last great myth of the French romantic theater. “

The actor Diogo Infante stars in the play in a scenic version and direction of João Mota, and heads a cast of 22 actors.

Cyrano de Bergerac is on stage at the National Theatre D. Maria II by 1 March. The scenery is from José Manuel Castanheira, the costumes are signed by Storytailors and the music is by Pedro Carneiro.